Police Dispatch

A drug dealer apparently living in a Jeep was arrested after trying to sell marijuana to transients, according to a Pima County Sheriff's Department report.

Sheriff's deputies were called to the scene of a homeless camp in a wash under Interstate 10 after reports of screaming and yelling in the area. They found five individuals sitting in a semi-circle in front of the camp, with one additional individual lying on a bed and a white Jeep parked nearby. Open alcohol containers were strewn about, and all the subjects appeared to be intoxicated or on drugs, as their eyes were all either closed or noticeably bloodshot. Besides beer cans, the area was littered with food cans, boxes, feces and "all manner of different garbage." A baggie of marijuana was found on the ground near the subjects.

Asked whose marijuana it was, all of the subjects denied ownership except for an individual in a cowboy hat, who remained silent. One male transient pulled aside a deputy and informed him that the subject in the cowboy hat had been trying to sell the marijuana to him and his friends.

Some of the transients were cited for trespassing, consuming liquor in public and polluting within 50 feet of a highway. They were then released.

The subject in the cowboy hat, found to be the owner of the white Jeep, was arrested for selling marijuana. A search of his vehicle revealed a laptop computer, several car batteries, a refrigerator, a power converter, food items, miscellaneous tools, clothes and a microwave oven.

Tax Man or Con Man?

South Rincon Valley Ranch Road, Oct. 20, 11:33 a.m.

A would-be con artist overestimated his victim's naïveté when presenting him with a transparent scam, a PSCD report said.

The reportee said he had received a call that morning from a man with a Middle Eastern accent claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service. The caller said the reportee was due a $10,000 tax refund as a reward for paying his taxes. All he had to do, the caller said, was send in $2,000 to pay taxes on the tax refund. "Yeah, right!" the reportee said, and hung up.

About two hours later, the caller tried again, repeating his offer of $10,000. The reportee still did not believe him, and tried to clarify how the transaction would take place and why the money was being offered. At that point, the caller exclaimed, "When you receive your check, you can stick it up your ass!" and hung up.

The reporting sheriff's deputy was not able to reach or identify the caller.